Sermon Tone Analysis
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One hundred years ago, Charles G. Trumbull wrote a book on witnessing entitled “Taking Men Alive.”
In it he says: /“If we would take a man alive for Christ, we must first of all know something about that man and his present interests.
Our knowledge may be gained in ten seconds, or in ten months.
But as a first step toward winning the man himself, we must devote our whole energy to knowing the man.
Therefore it is he who must fill our whole horizon as we prepare to come close to him.
We must not be thinking about others, but about this other—this one person out of the whole universe.
This is the simple secret of "tact"—that mysterious power which a few favored ones seem to possess.
But "tact" is simply "touch"—a touch on the right spot rather than the wrong, a touch which will win another rather than antagonize him, a touch in keeping with his present interests, rather than opposed to them.
The art of taking men alive calls for tact at the very beginning— which means, first of all, knowing your man.
Concentrating all our attention on the individual at the outset so that we know what interests him, enables us to put forward something that will attract and hold his attention.
In fishing, the attractive thing thus put forward by the fisherman is called bait.
And bait is a prime essential in the man-fishing to which Christ called his disciples, and in which he promises to train them to expertise.
For let us bear in mind that we are in the business of winning men to Christ.
We cannot win by antagonizing.
And we must win by drawing men to us as a first step in drawing them to Christ.
Even the Son of God did not take it for granted that men would be interested in him or his message until he had first interested himself in them.
Shall we expect to do better than he?”/
This morning I want us to examine the Portrait of Christ that the Apostle John presents in the forth chapter of his Gospel.
That Apostle paints Jesus as a soul-winner and in doing so gives each of us insight into how to share our faith.
!
I. SOUL WINNERS CARE ABOUT PEOPLE
* v. 4 /"We must needs go through Samaria"/
#.
Merrill Tenney, in his commentary on John's gospel, writes that this little phrase, /"We must . .
." makes this encounter with the woman at the well "glow with the light of destiny"/
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Jesus did not have to go through Samaria
#. there were at least two other major roads he and the disciples could have taken which would have by-passed the territory altogether
#. it is possible that Jesus makes the statement because going through Samaria was the shortest route between Jerusalem and Cana of Galilee—his destination
#. it is more likely that he is being obedient to the Father's will
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Jesus knows he needs to go through Samaria because there's a person he must present the gospel to
#. Jesus went through Samaria because he cared about people
{{{"
!! A. SOUL WINNERS CARE FOR PEOPLE BY TREATING THEM AS INDIVIDUALS
#. there are four ways we can treat people
#. we can idolize them
#. this is what we seem to do with entertainers, sports heros and the famous
#. we put them on a pedestal and admire and lavish attention upon them
#. the problem with that is when they reveal their humanity in an ugly way and their image is marred and we are terribly disappointed (Lance Armstrong)
#. we can demonize them
#.
it's so tempting—it's so easy—to blame others for the condition we find ourselves in
#. scap-goating seems to be a popular past-time with many people
#. we can utilize them
#. this is a sin churches have been especially guilty of
#. we utilize people when we see them as a resource to be used rather then a person to know
#. the very best way to treat a person is to humanize them
* ILLUS Most evangelism material today treats people as groups: If you want to win Gen-xers, this is how you do it.
If you want to win Millennials these are the techniques you use.
Jesus doesn’t see the Woman at the Well as a ‘class of people’, but as an individual.
#. we need to see both the stranger and the neighbor as the unique person that God created them to be
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Jesus saw the woman at the well as a person of worth who deserved his attention
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Jesus always personalized his treatment of people
* ILLUS.
The contrast between our Lord's encounter with the woman at the well in this chapter of John's gospel and his conversation with Nicodemus in the previous chapter show how Jesus tailored his approach to people.
The difference between these two individuals is striking.
Nicodemus is a Jew, she a Samaritan.
In chapter 3 Jesus deals with a man, in chapter 4 a woman.
Nicodemus is an individual of high moral character and intelligence, she is a uneducated commoner of debatable reputation.
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Jesus loves them both and seeks to treat them as the individuals they are
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you will never be a successful soul winner until you treat everyone you meet as a unique individual with unique needs who needs a tailored style of evangelism and witnessing
!! B. SOUL WINNERS CARE FOR PEOPLE BY INITIATING CONTACT WITH THEM
* v. 7 /"When a Samaritan woman came to draw water, Jesus said to her, 'Will you give me a drink?'"/
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Jesus does not wait for the woman to offer him a drink of water which she may or may not have done
#. he sought to initiate contact by asking for a favor
#. effective witnessing takes place when we initiate contact with a lost person
#. if our church is going to win lost people from this community to Christ, we can't afford to linger and hope that it comes to us
#. if that's what we're waiting for, it ain't gonna happen
#.
Jesus told his disciples in the Great Commission to /"get up and go"/ not /"sit down and wait"/
#. unbiblical attitudes about witnessing are going to kill the church
#. attitudes like, /"Hey, I thought that's why we hired a preacher!"/
#. attidues like, /"They know where the church is."/
* ILLUS.
Dr. James Stewart, professor of New Testament at the University of Edinburgh, described what he thought is the greatest threat to the church.
He said, /"It is not communism, atheism, or materialism; the greatest threat is Christians trying to sneak into heaven incognito without ever sharing their faith."/
* ILLUS.
The late Dr. James Kennedy says that one of the saddest statistics of our day is that 95% of all church members have never led anyone to Christ.
#. if we’re going to lead people to Christ, we must initiate spiritual conversation with them
!! C. SOUL WINNERS CARE FOR PEOPLE BY LOOKING PAST THEIR PERSONAL PREJUDICE
* v. 9 /"Then saith the woman of Samaria unto him, 'How is it that thou, being a Jew, askest drink of me, which am a woman of Samaria?
For the Jews have no dealings with the Samaritans.'"/
#. the relationship between Jews and Samaritans was not hostile, but it was by no means cordial
#.
Jesus could have easily snubbed this woman's presence and been completely justified by the social rules of the day
#. he could not have done so and been justified by the rules of the Kingdom which he came to establish
#. this woman is almost flabbergasted that a Jewish man would lower himself to talk to her—a Samaritan woman!
#. the animosity went back generations
#. the phrase /"have no dealings with"/ can literally be translated, /"do not use vessels together with"/
#. now, what in the world does that mean?
#. it means that these folks normally wouldn't even drink water out of the same jug!
#. our Lord's lovingkindness overleaped the boundaries of national pride, social mores, ethnicity, hatred and mistrust
#. let me ask you a question this morning
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are there people in this community who would be flabbergasted if you talked to them?
#. do walls of racial prejudice, or socioeconomic prejudice, or ethnic prejudice, or religious prejudice keep you from sharing your faith with people?
#. soul winners care for people by looking past their personal prejudice
#. /Soul Winners Care about People/
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!
II.
SOUL WINNERS CONFRONT PEOPLE WITH THE TRUTH
* v. 10-12 /"Jesus answered her, 'If you knew the gift of God and who it is that asks you for a drink, you would have asked him and he would have given you living water.'"/
#. the stranger has just asked her for a drink of water and now he is offering her something called /"living water?"/
#. she doesn't understand
#. she assumes that Jesus is the one in need and that she can meet that need
#. after all, this man doesn't even have a bucket!
#. she doesn't understand that she is the one who has the real need
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Jesus is thirsty of body and knows it
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she is thirsty of soul, but doesn't know it
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